Onmyoji, a nobleman in Heian-kyo

Page 891

"This Ōtakemaru is indeed very skilled in human military strategy and tactics, and also knows how to assess the situation."

Minamoto no Yorimitsu spoke slowly.

He wasn't in a hurry to catch up with Ōtakemaru, because there were many traps set high up on Mount Ōe, waiting for Ōtakemaru, enough for him to catch up with him.

"That 'head of Suzuka Mountain,' Haiming, was escorted by other sea monsters to the highlands of Mount Oe, probably to set a trap there? What a pity..."

Without giving up his thoughts, Minamoto no Yorimitsu was quick enough to give chase.

Shuten-dōji glanced around at the oni fighting the sea monsters, and he was in the same direction as Minamoto no Yorimitsu.

Then Ibaraki-dōji and Minamoto no Hiromasa also went up to higher ground.

Well--

Kyosuke Kosaka witnessed Ōtakemaru's underhanded tactics and his desperate attempt to escape while being beaten, and he also killed the sea monster as he climbed to higher ground.

"The situation here is alright, so let the oni from Mount Oe and the human onmyoji and samurai handle it."

While it's true that Kyosuke Kousaka could easily take down these sirens one by one in a way that would be easy for him.

But that would lower your class too much, and other people might not be happy either.

There are many humans who want to gain merit in battle, and the demons are bloodthirsty and warlike. Everyone has their own agenda, so why bother stirring things up?

“We’ll give chase too,” Kousaka Kyosuke said.

Kagura didn't say anything, just followed silently.

Yaobikuni gave a soft "hmm," then sighed softly, "I actually feel sorry for Ōtakemaru, who was being manipulated like a puppet."

Kyosuke Kosaka muttered to himself, "He doesn't like your pitifulness; he only cares about victory."

"that's true……"

"..."

Kousaka Kyosuke remained silent, wondering if the conversation was getting a little boring.

Well, let's chat, even if the topics are pretty pointless.

However, he was clearly overthinking it.

Because there's simply no time to chat!

As they went higher, the number of sirens increased considerably.

"Could these be soldiers brought here by Minamoto no Yorimitsu and Shuten-dōji?"

Despite his inner turmoil, Kousaka Kyosuke decided to resolve the matter together with Kagura and Yaobikuni.

In this battle of Mount Ooe, he neither intended to slack off nor to put in too much effort.

Ultimately, what difference does it make what you do?

"Mr. Kyosuke, you're not in a hurry at all."

"Because Ōtakemaru is very likely to use the divine weapon to turn the tide, and Seimei, Hiromasa, Shuten-dōji and others will all go together to deal with it, so at least they won't suffer any losses, I'm at ease."

"I see……"

Yaobikuni nodded in understanding.

Raise your staff and unleash a spirit strike to silently kill the sea monsters one by one.

To kill while talking—that's ruthless.

Kousaka Kyosuke muttered secretly.

From an objective point of view, his relationship with Kagura is the same, so there's nothing more to say.

After slaughtering countless sea monsters, they reached a high place.

Kousaka Kyosuke saw that the corpses of sea monsters were piled up like mountains high up, and he also saw Minamoto no Hiromasa??

"Boya!"

"Brother Boya!"

Kousaka Kyosuke arrived at Minamoto no Hiromasa's side immediately. Hiromasa's face was slightly pale and his body was wrapped in simple cloth bandages to stop the pain in his abdomen.

"What a mess... I was careless and got poisoned by Ōtakemaru's miasma," Minamoto no Hiromasa said with shame.

Kyosuke Kosaka said, "This was a bit too careless. The situation is so unfavorable for him at this time, it's certain that he would fight at all costs."

While talking and treating him, he was educating his brother-in-law, Minamoto no Hiromasa.

How so? Everyone knows that he's a desperate man who's determined to go all the way down a single path.

You should be extra careful during a battle, so why are you still so careless?

"I stabbed him, and he stabbed me..."

"Therefore, we must be most wary of this kind of fighting style that involves exchanging injury for injury or even life for life. He might do this in the future, so you can't be too careful unless you're sure of success. Alright, now that your injuries have healed, Boya, you can stay here and keep watch. After all, you've still lost some energy, which greatly affects your combat ability."

"Let's go together! I'll definitely be careful this time."

"Then Kagura, you protect your brother."

"it is good."

"...I don't need anyone to protect me."

"Oh, don't forget me, Mr. Kyosuke, Mr. Hiromasa."

"In any case, let's keep going."

Thus, the team gained another member, Minamoto no Hiromasa, who was somewhat weakened.

Kyosuke Kousaka, who was walking in front, was starting to get into the zone.

Just as he just said.

At this moment, Ōtakemaru is employing a "one-for-one" strategy.

Given how thick-skinned and resilient he is, it's impossible for Kyosuke Kousaka not to be worried.

Unfortunately, we cannot ignore it.

That's terrible.

Seimei, Minamoto no Yorimitsu, Shuten-dōji, and Ibaraki-dōji were all top-tier fighters, yet they had to be wary of Ōtakemaru, who wielded a divine weapon. This is quite ironic.

But it is understandable.

Who wouldn't be careful when facing an enemy who could very well drag them down with them?

Thinking as I traveled.

Kyosuke Kosaka quickly reached the steep summit of Mount Oe with the others.

"Wait a minute, something's not right!"

Kyosuke Kousaka, who had been keeping a close eye on the situation, immediately raised his hand to stop him.

As he was saying this, he vaguely saw and heard what was happening inside through his astonishing spiritual sense—

"Onikiri! You traitor! Unforgivable! Unforgivable! Go to hell!!"

"I'm not reconciled... I can't die like that..."

"Minamoto no Yorimitsu! I'm going to kill you!!"

Ibaraki-dōji, Shuten-dōji, and Onikiri were fighting separately and were in extremely poor condition.

Kousaka Kyosuke noticed that they all seemed to be fighting the phantoms, while Minamoto no Yorimitsu, Seimei, and Shiro were fighting against Ōtakemaru.

In mid-air, a sinister old man was manipulating a seven-colored phantom.

"What's going on?" Minamoto no Hiromasa asked, unaware of the specific situation at the mountaintop due to the barrier.

Kyosuke Kosaka gave a brief explanation.

Minamoto no Hiromasa was surprised: "You were actually able to perceive the detailed situation inside the barrier?"

He was a barrier master, so he knew very well how powerful others were who could know what was inside a barrier without dispelling it.

At the very least, his mastery of barrier techniques is definitely superior to his!

“This is a barrier that incorporates elements of illusion, which happens to be my area of ​​expertise,” Kousaka Kyosuke replied.

Through the concept of dreaming of butterflies, he gradually gained his own understanding of dreams and illusions.

I usually think about it.

Especially since the other shore flower had used up a lot of energy to maintain that dream of dating, which slowed down its recovery, so he was planning to take matters into his own hands one day... Leaving these topics aside, what should be done now?

“Stepping into the past feels like I’ll be controlled,” Kagura said.

Yaobikuni slowly said, "According to Kyosuke's description, this should be a 'psychic illusion.' I've heard of this kind of spell before; it can read the caster's consciousness and materialize their greatest fears..."

Minamoto no Hiromasa frowned: "I also saw it in an ancient book. It is said that this evil spell has been lost for a long time, but I never thought that it would be used by the people of Suzuka Mountain."

Kagura: "...We'll definitely suffer the same fate if we go in, and we might even do more harm than good."

Minamoto no Hiromasa said with a serious expression, "I can overcome it. Even though I have weaknesses, I will face everything head-on and will not be distracted by anything. Besides, Seimei and Raimitsu could do it, so why can't I?"

Kyosuke Kosaka waved his hand.